Alec Baldwin will no longer face charges over the October 2021 shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey said Monday, December 23, that an appeal to reinstate charges against the actor, 66, has been dropped due to lack of support from the New Mexico district attorney’s office, per The New York Times and CBS News.
The prosecution’s previous case against Baldwin fell apart at trial in July when his lawyers successfully argued that the prosecution withheld evidence potentially linked to the case.
“The state’s efforts to continue to litigate the case in a fair and comprehensive manner have been met with multiple barriers that have compromised its ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Morrissey said in a news release, per the New York Times.
“The appeal would have challenged the Court’s dismissal of criminal charges against Producer and Actor, Alec Baldwin which included involuntary manslaughter in the tragic shooting of Cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust on October 21, 2021,” a statement issued by the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
“The FJDA commends Morrissey for her work in prosecuting two cases of such magnitude and national attention, including the successful prosecution against Hannah Gutierrez Reed. The FJDA supports the Hutchins’ family and their continued fight for justice in civil court,” the statement added, per CBS News.
Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said the decision “to dismiss the appeal is the final vindication of what Alec Baldwin and his attorneys have said from the beginning — this was an unspeakable tragedy but Alec Baldwin committed no crime. The rule of law remains intact in New Mexico.”
Baldwin has yet to comment publicly on the decision but on Monday shared a link to a New York Times article about it via X.
Hutchins was killed and Rust director Joel Souza was injured as the result of a prop gun containing a real bullet being fired on set in October 2021. Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin in February 2022 and settled with the Emmy winner that October.
Baldwin, who denied pulling the trigger, was later charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January 2023 and pleaded not guilty one month later. The criminal charges were dropped in April 2023. However, he was indicted for involuntary manslaughter a second time earlier this year and headed to trial in July.
The case was dismissed by First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in July. Sommer agreed with Baldwin’s lawyers that prosecutors hid evidence that may have been linked to the fatal shooting.
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” Sommer told the court, per NBC News. “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.” The dismissal was with prejudice, which meant the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin could not be filed again, however, Morrissey sought to appeal that decision.
The film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Her attorneys’ appeal for a new trial was denied in September.
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